Recent advances in the management of acute stroke were discussed by a world-renowned neuroscientist at the Grand Rounds of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q).
Dr Ashfaq Shuaib, professor of medicine and neurology and director, Neuroscience Institute at Hamad Medical Corporation, gave a presentation and explained the importance of recent advances in neuroimaging technologies, data showing rates of recovery and complications of stroke victims, and the need for hospitals to have dedicated stroke care units.
Dr Shuaib, said: “The data shows us that if treatment is given within the first 90 minutes after stroke, then one in four patients will make a full recovery. If treatment is not given until three hours have passed, that number drops dramatically to just one in fourteen who will make a full recovery.
“For every minute that passes, the patient loses about two million brain cells. So you can see that it is absolutely crucial to treat patients who have suffered a stroke as soon as possible.”
A stroke occurs when the brain’s blood supply is suddenly cut off, causing brain cells to die very rapidly. There are two types of strokes: ischemic, which is when a blood clot stops the blood supply; and haemorrhagic in which one of the blood vessels supplying the brain bursts.
Dr Shuaib explained that a key technological advance in stroke care is the development of smaller and more portable CT scanners. CT scanners, which use a form of X-ray to allow doctors to see an image of the brain, are traditionally extremely large and heavy and cannot be moved. Now, CT scanners that fit inside an ambulance are available, which have the potential to allow doctors to diagnose a stroke and begin treatment far earlier than was previously the case.
Dr Shuaib said: “This is a very new technology and it is not yet widely available. Last week we put in an order to have one in Doha, which makes us part of a very elite group of only about ten cities around the world where this technology is available.”
Dr Shuaib also explained that patients suffer far less complications if they are moved quickly from emergency care units to stroke wards.